JohnB_SPY8808053
May 1st, 2005, 10:22 AM
While I think the shape of the new concept car is very good, I hate the single A-pillar and interior.
My reasons for this are that the big thing abut Stratos has always been that it was designed to win rallies. It was the first homologation special ever. It was designed to compete and win. The single A-piller seems - well - gimicky and ultra fashionable - but highly impracical and even unsafe. If you were to have any kind of side impact in that car, ther would be very little body work protecting you or keep the door and roof from intruding on the occupants. Remember that the original cars have an integrated roll cage in their A-pillars. Somehow I don't think the single A-pillar lives up to the FIA cage design specs.
The interior also seems too fashionable and impractical. Car interiors IMHO should be innovative by having convenient controlls on the dash - even new features nobody's thought of, but it should be designed to allow the use of standard items like racing seats, etc. The graceful curving bulkhead of the concept car is neat to look at but would be a real pain to deal with.
These two things make me think the new concept car is not really supposed to be like the original Stratos - a high performance race/rally car that anyone could own. It's more like a Bugatti - high performance for sure and very pretty - but not something anyone ever takes to the track or supermarket. It's something for the very rich to buy and show off to their friends while its value appreciates.
I should also mention that I'm saddened to hear that Lancia sold off the rights to the Stratos name. They seem bent on screwing themselves these days by ignoring their customers, scrapping all their good ideas and trying to charge too much money for ugly copies of the Fiat models just because they added a leather interior. It reminds me of the old Commodore computer company which - despite having made a vastly superior product for a time (anyone remember the Amiga), kept making terrible decisions that allowed the PC market to destroy them.
IMHO, Lancia should be making just 6 car models - two sedans, two hatches and 2 sports cars. The Fulvia concept car they proposed with a 1.6 or 2.0L Fiat TC. A revised version of the Thesis to styled to match the Fulvia with a 2.5 or 3.2L Alpha Romeo V6. A fwd hatch based on the Punto floorplan but styled to resemble the old Delta with the 1.6 or 2.0L TC engine. A 4wd hatch based on the Stilo floorpan and styled like the old Delta with a 2.0L Turbo TC engine. A small mid-engined rwd car styled to resemble the Montecarlo/Scorpion/037 with a BEGI supercharged 2.0L TC. Last, a mid-sized (slightly larger than the original) mid-engined rwd car styled like the Stratos with a twin-turbo 3.2L V6.
If they were to do this, I'd be in debt for a very long time as I tried to buy one of each. I suspect many other lancisti would too. They would also only have to support 4 different engines with 2 mounting configurations and about 4 different gearboxes. Seems to me that using highly standardized parts has worked pretty well for Honda. Sadly though it seems the Lancia execs are bent on being the lesser of the Fiat holdings - loosing the executive market to Alpha Romeo and the economy market to Fiat and the exotics market to Ferrari.
I hate to say it but I think the real spiritual decendants of the Stratos are the Lotus Elise and Exige.
These are of course all just my opinions - anybody else want to share theirs?
John B.
Edited to fix a typo - I cut 3 fingertips on my left hand yesterday working on the cars and it's tough to type with bandaids on your fingers! :)
My reasons for this are that the big thing abut Stratos has always been that it was designed to win rallies. It was the first homologation special ever. It was designed to compete and win. The single A-piller seems - well - gimicky and ultra fashionable - but highly impracical and even unsafe. If you were to have any kind of side impact in that car, ther would be very little body work protecting you or keep the door and roof from intruding on the occupants. Remember that the original cars have an integrated roll cage in their A-pillars. Somehow I don't think the single A-pillar lives up to the FIA cage design specs.
The interior also seems too fashionable and impractical. Car interiors IMHO should be innovative by having convenient controlls on the dash - even new features nobody's thought of, but it should be designed to allow the use of standard items like racing seats, etc. The graceful curving bulkhead of the concept car is neat to look at but would be a real pain to deal with.
These two things make me think the new concept car is not really supposed to be like the original Stratos - a high performance race/rally car that anyone could own. It's more like a Bugatti - high performance for sure and very pretty - but not something anyone ever takes to the track or supermarket. It's something for the very rich to buy and show off to their friends while its value appreciates.
I should also mention that I'm saddened to hear that Lancia sold off the rights to the Stratos name. They seem bent on screwing themselves these days by ignoring their customers, scrapping all their good ideas and trying to charge too much money for ugly copies of the Fiat models just because they added a leather interior. It reminds me of the old Commodore computer company which - despite having made a vastly superior product for a time (anyone remember the Amiga), kept making terrible decisions that allowed the PC market to destroy them.
IMHO, Lancia should be making just 6 car models - two sedans, two hatches and 2 sports cars. The Fulvia concept car they proposed with a 1.6 or 2.0L Fiat TC. A revised version of the Thesis to styled to match the Fulvia with a 2.5 or 3.2L Alpha Romeo V6. A fwd hatch based on the Punto floorplan but styled to resemble the old Delta with the 1.6 or 2.0L TC engine. A 4wd hatch based on the Stilo floorpan and styled like the old Delta with a 2.0L Turbo TC engine. A small mid-engined rwd car styled to resemble the Montecarlo/Scorpion/037 with a BEGI supercharged 2.0L TC. Last, a mid-sized (slightly larger than the original) mid-engined rwd car styled like the Stratos with a twin-turbo 3.2L V6.
If they were to do this, I'd be in debt for a very long time as I tried to buy one of each. I suspect many other lancisti would too. They would also only have to support 4 different engines with 2 mounting configurations and about 4 different gearboxes. Seems to me that using highly standardized parts has worked pretty well for Honda. Sadly though it seems the Lancia execs are bent on being the lesser of the Fiat holdings - loosing the executive market to Alpha Romeo and the economy market to Fiat and the exotics market to Ferrari.
I hate to say it but I think the real spiritual decendants of the Stratos are the Lotus Elise and Exige.
These are of course all just my opinions - anybody else want to share theirs?
John B.
Edited to fix a typo - I cut 3 fingertips on my left hand yesterday working on the cars and it's tough to type with bandaids on your fingers! :)